Riddle Me This, Riddle Me Black
by TheodoraTMRBlack
Summary: Theodora Riddle, a cursed child, is sent to Hogwarts to do her father's bidding... then she meets the Marauders. How will they affect her life? Starts off in the Marauders time, but continues through the Second War and the series epilogue. WARNING: Child abuse not sexual (though mentioned), Harsh Language, lots of scandals. DM/HP but not until later. Most others stay true to books
1. Prologue

**Just a quick prologue for my little story of Theodora.**

**WARNING: Child Abuse is heavily involved. Language is also violent.**

The cold tile underneath my pale skin was a common feeling. I am used to my robes being ripped and I being hit to the ground. The growing bruise across my right cheek is just another for my collection. Another addition to my scars in all of their multitudes. I am used to being attacked without cause. Just another day in my house.

"THEODORA!" My dear mother, Marissa, yells at me as she approaches me to hit me again. She pulls me to my poor, scratched up, eleven year old feet by my long black hair, "How many times do I have to tell you, you fucking twit, to bow in the presence of your Lord?" She threw me to my knees in front of my Lord. I feel the tile pull the skin from my knees, but I dare not cry. If I cry in front of him, Marissa will lock me in the cupboard in the basement again. I hate rats.

"My… my Lord." I manage to squeak out.

The Lord stands and places his hand on my head, "Dear child. Fear me not, for I could not hurt you." I nod, fear, not of him but my mother, growing in my stomach. "MARISSA!" I hear my mother gasp at her name, "Leave us." I hear her tall heels clack against the white tiles as she leaves. Once the door slams shut behind her, I jump up and look at him. His black hair, stark against his milky skin and his deformed nose twitching slightly as he breathed were something anyone could see, but his most noticeable feature… at least to me was his eyes. My Lord had black eyes, as deep as the night sky and just as cold… and yet there is warmth as well. A love that he actively denies, but I know exists, shines through when he looks at me. He takes me in his long arms and holds me tight, "Oh, my dear Theo." He sighs, "Someday you shall be so strong. Someday you shall be a great witch worthy of any title." He looks deep into my eyes, "Someday, my dark princess, you shall rule beside me." He pushes me away, the tenderness gone and back to business, "But until then, I need followers and young ones." He sat in his black throne, places just under his picture in this black and white room. He pulls out a letter, addressed to me in green ink, which had been opened and read, but not by me. "I need you, Theodora, to go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and recruit those of your own age to my cause. Do you Understand?"

"Yes," I very shakily bowed, my hair almost touching my toes. When I stood straight, he was looking into my eyes, black on black. "Father."

**Yes, I know very short. The rest should be longer and a bit more explanatory.**

**Theo**


	2. First Year

"Theodora! Hurry up, you useless… child." Marissa says as she grabs my hand and nearly pulls my arm out of its socket. My Lord could not make it to the station today so I am stuck with her instead. I feel my fingers being crushed in her grip and I just hope that she does not break them again before I board the train. When we finally got on the platform, she releases me to go speak to the Malfoys. Thank God. I was afraid I was going to have to deal with her until I got onto the train.

"Hey, are you okay?" I whip around so fast, my braid hit the boy in the cheek. "Well, if you didn't want to talk, you could just say so instead of hitting me." The tall boy smirks at me, his long unruly hair falling into his bright blue eyes.

"Well, I'm not sorry if that's what you want. You were the one to sneak up on me." I clutch my book tighter to my chest and take a step closer to my trunk. I do not want to speak to this boy any longer.

He, unfortunately, seems intent on speaking to me, "My name is James. James Potter" He sticks out his hand.

I refuse his handshake, but reply "Theodora. Theodora Riddle."

He chuckles, an oddly high chuckle for a boy, "Love the last name."

"Hey Potter!" Another boy with even longer black hair approaches us. He claps Potter on the back, "How are you and who's your friend?" He looks me up and down. I feel myself take yet another step closer to my trunk. I do not like people.

Potter chuckles again, "Sirius, this is Theodora Riddle." He gestures to me and then turning to me, "And this is Sirius Black, my dearest friend and co-conspirator."

"Whoa, I do not want to be introduced as your co-conspirator! What happens when you get caught? Then I'll get blamed too." They both laugh and, much against my will, I smile along with them.

Potter turns to me, a strange look upon his face, and says "Hey Riddle. Do you want to sit with us?"

I am flabbergasted at his question. I certainly did not think I was going to sit with anyone this first day… though my Lord did say to try and recruit the Black boy so I suppose this would be a good idea… "Okay, I guess." I turn and look at my trunk then back at the boys, "But you have to help me with my trunk first."

They both do this great horrible sigh, then laugh and help me on the train.

As we are pulling out, both of the boys have their heads out the window and are waving like mad while I just sit in my seat. I'm thankful to be going unlike most. They both finally sit down, long after the station was out of sight. They begin to play a game of Exploding Snap and I am just trying to stay out of their way when there is a knock at the door. Another first year boy opens the door. He has short honey blonde hair and is significantly shorter than both Potter and Black, but what really catches my eye is a large scar on the side of his neck. All I can think of is the numerous scars I am desperately trying to hide beneath my robes. "Hey, may I join you? The rest of the cars are full."

I feel myself nodding right away. "Yes, please. There is plenty of room." The boys give me strange looks but I feel an instant connection with this boy. I feel something that I have never felt before like he is just another lost soul who if anyone knew him, he would not be accepted by them… just like me.

He nods thankfully and enters our little car. "I'm Remus. Remus Lupin."

Potter introduces us in turn, but I cannot take my eyes off Lupin. Suddenly, my watch alarm goes off, "Damn. I'll be right back." I get up and run to the bathroom before the boys can say anything. I take a deep breath as I feel the thirst starting to encroach. I reach into my pocket and pull out my bottle of pills. I pull out two of the elongated dark red pills and pop them into my mouth. I chew them up quickly and wash my mouth out with water from the sink. I check my teeth to make sure that the blood capsules have left no mark. Good, now I quickly apply a thin coat of my sunscreen and head back out. Why did Marissa have to be a vampire? Why do I have to put up with this?

When I reenter the compartment, the boys give me questioning looks but when I refuse to comment they let it go and resume their game of Exploding Snap… and before too much longer I decide to join them.

"Riding the boats are simply a pain!" Remus complains as he, a girl with bright red hair named Molly, and I get out of our boat.

I chuckle slightly, "Perhaps, but I like that they have that tradition."

Molly smiles at me, "Yes. That is kind of nice. It's like we are already a part of Hogwarts history."

With that, Hagrid, a tall half-giant that my Lord had warned me to avoid, leads us into the castle. "Now yer first 'ears will need to follow Professor McGonagall once we get inside." The group nods as he opens the door leading us into a large entry hall. Before we get too far inside though, piece of the suits of armor are being thrown at us.

There are some cries of surprise and a couple of the girls screamed before a witch with half-moon spectacles and a tight brown bun pulls out her wand, "Peeves! Leave the first years be!" The armor stops flying and quiet resumes over the first years. "Good…" she put her wand away, "Now, I am Professor McGonagall. Head of Gryffindor House and I am leading you to the Great Hall." She turns and begins to lead us up a flight of stairs. When she reaches the top, she turns and address us again, "We are about to begin the Sorting Ceremony. It is where you shall be sorted into your houses. Gryffindor, the house of the brave, Ravenclaw, the house of the intelligent, Hufflepuff, the house of the loyal, and Slytherin, the house of the cunning. I will call your names in alphabetical order so I could arrange yourself as closely in that order as possible, that will make this much easier." The first years start trying to arrange themselves into something of a line. I get stuck between a short nervous boy who kept twitching named Pettigrew and a boy with long greasy black hair named Snape. She nods when we were finally in a line and opened the door. My Lord described the Great Hall to me before, but it is nothing like I ever imagined. The ceiling is so tall and it looks like there is almost no ceiling at all. You can see the stars and the crescent moon. There are thousands of candles just floating in the air and it just feels so magical. All to soon, Professor McGonagall calls our attention up to the front where she is holding a ragged old hat and an old brown stool. She places the stool down and the hat on top of it and much to my surprise, the hat starts singing.

_I have been here since the founding_

_Back when the houses were just a thought_

_Here is my home with wizards abounding_

_Though through the houses some trouble is wrought._

_Godric Gryffindor founded the first_

_Gryffindor house for the brave at heart_

_Though with hot air, their heads may burst_

_They very willingly play their part_

_Rowena Ravenclaw comes up next_

_Her house is for those with lots of brains_

_Some are odd and some are vex_

_But where would we be without their gains_

_Helena Hufflepuff kind and true_

_Hufflepuffs are loyal, happy, and honest_

_They are always there to comfort you_

_They also tend to be the calmest_

_Last but not least is Salazar Slytherin_

_An ambition and cunning lot_

_They are often loyal to their kin_

_But to those outside they are not._

_As so come sit and let me tell_

_What house your heart belongs in_

_Let me cast my magic spell_

_And, with some luck, you'll win_

The hat finishes his song and McGonagall calls the first name, "Abbot, Alice." The blonde haired girl cautiously approaches the chair.

When she sits down, the Professor places the hat on her head. After a moment, the hat cries out "HUFFLEPUFF" All of the house tables politely clap for her, though whom I assume is the Hufflepuff table starts celebrating for her.

"Black, Sirius." Sirius also nervously approaches the hat, but when it is placed on his head it immediately shouts out "GRYFFINDOR" He looks relieved but I am sad. I know I will be in Slytherin.

"Caldwell, Jacob" he gets, "RAVENCLAW"

"Evans, Lily" she gets "GRYFFINDOR"

I start zoning after that I suppose because the next name I hear is "Lupin, Remus." He appears concerned, as if everyone can see through him, as he approaches the hat. He ends up sitting under the hat for awhile, like it cannot make up its mind. After a little while it calls out "GRYFFINDOR" Sirius jumps up and they celebrate together, but my heart sinks. I know I will not end up in that house.

"Nott, Antonin" another dark haired boy approaches the chair, "SLYTHERIN" only the Slytherin's seem happy for him. No one else claps.

"Orwell, Nancy." Little blonde sits on the bench "HUFFLEPUFF"

"Pettigrew, Peter." The mousy boy in front of me steps around James and walked timidly up to the stool. She places the hat on his head and it sinks down to his chin. He sits there for awhile before the hat calls out "GRYFFINDOR"

He hops down and attempts to run to the table but trips and slides halfway there. Sirius laughs but picks the poor lad up. "Be more careful, Pettigrew or we might have to change your name to Petti-falls!" Several people laugh, but I do not find it amusing. That may be due to my sour mood though.

"Potter, James." He walks up there, then turns around and sticks his fists up in the air like he just won a marathon or something. I just roll my eyes as he finally sits down. He hat is not even all the way on his head when it shouts "GRYFFINDOR"

He jumps up and runs to the table, but my heart sinks yet again. I even start to feel tears in my eyes but I manage to stop them when McGonagall calls out "Riddle, Theodora." I slowly walk up there. I feel like I have already lost the few friends I have. I sit down and the last thing I see are those three boys all staring up at me.

The hat falls over my eyes and I hear this deep voice in my head, "Now… what do we have here. A half-vampire born to a dark lord, eh? You seem to expect me to place you Slytherin, but I am not so sure… I feel as though you would do just as well in Ravenclaw…" I thought pops into my head, almost unbidden. If I cannot be in Gryffindor, I would rather be in Slytherin. A deep sigh seems to come from the hat, "Are you so sure… I see other paths before you other than the one your father would choose…" but the thought remains stuck in my mind. I would rather be in Slytherin. "If you are sure…"

Then I heard out loud, "SLYTHERIN". The hat is removed from my eyes and I see the boys standing there, flabbergasted. No one is clapping for me except for my new house. I feel tears begin to well up again and Remus saw. He simply put his hands together and starts clapping for me. Then, slowly, James and Sirius start clapping for me too. Then, Pettigrew starts clapping too. Very slowly, the entire hall is clapping for me, just another Slytherin girl who most of them do not know. I jump up and hug the boys. Now I know that no matter what house I may be in, I will still have friends.

**Good? Yes? No? Need opinions! Now I'm going to jump forward a bit. Go forward to either their 3****rd****or 4****th****year. That's where the romancing gets started and you meet the Mates! Very excited… see you soon!**

**Theo**


	3. Fourth Year: At The Quidditch Field

**We start off our next story 4****th****year, shortly after the first feast of the year.**

**Scaleskin, Hairyears, Speckles, and Brighteyes are proud to present chapter 2!**

We are an odd group, the Mates and the Marauders. Six Gryffidors and two Slytherins who could not be closer. Molly Prewett, Bellatrix Lestrange, Lily Evans, and myself on the Mates then Sirius Black, James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew on the Marauders. Truly a strange group of friends. "Scaleskin!" I hear from behind me.

I turn to see Remus approaching quickly, "Moony! What is it? Come to wish me good luck with my new Care of Magical Creatures class? God knows, I need it."

He looks serious… not a good look on him. I like him better when he is smiling, "Actually it is about the letter you sent me." He pulls a worn, folded piece of paper out of his pocket. "Can we talk about this?"

I turn away. I remember writing that letter, clear as day. My mother had just finished 'working' with me that day when Mister Malfoy approached me and did… things I care not to describe here. I was desperate and lonely. I needed someone who could even somewhat understand, so I sent Remus a letter describing how I had terrible secrets that I could not share and how lonely I was. It was incredibly stupid. I regretted sending the damned thing the moment it left my hand. "Remus. Please do not think anything of it. I was just so lonely when I wrote it…"

He pulls me aside, "No, Theo. I know you and this was something serious. Please, whatever it is I promise you can tell me."

I stare long and hard into those deep hazel eyes and I know he spoke the truth. "Fine, but I won't speak of it here. Meet at me the qudditich field at midnight, okay?"

He nods then clasps my shoulder, "It'll be alright, Scaleskin. You'll see." Then he takes off to catch up with the first years.

I sigh as I watch him go. Then when he is out of my sight, I catch up to my own house. I see Brighteyes trying to get passed the swarms of first years blocking the door, "Bellatrix!"

She turns and when she sees me, her eyes light up. She pushes over several of the first years in her attempt to get to me, "THEO!" She tackle hugs me to the ground, "I missed you over the summer, Theo. You should have written more!"

I nod, as much trying to get her crazy hair out of my mouth as answering her. "I'm sorry, Brighteyes. I'll try to do better next summer." She finally gets up off my chest, "How is your cousin?"

She helps me to my feet, "Sirius? That old dog spent most of the summer at the Potter's. I didn't see him almost at all." I start brushing the dust off my robes and she helps me, not caring about her own. "I heard that his aunt was furious with him all summer."

I roll my eyes, "That doesn't surprise me." I start looking past her searching through the first years, "Where is your sister, this mysterious Narcissa? I've heard so much about her."

Bellatrix snorts, "She isn't worth the time seeking her out, you'll see her soon enough." With that, Brighteyes grabs my hand and whips me through the crowd to our room. I can already tell, this is going to be an interesting year.

It's nearly 11:30 when I finally ditch Bellatrix, by convincing her that I was going to study for the next several hours. "Fine," she huffs, "but you're all mine tomorrow! None of this studying business!" I nod and chuckle as she stomps off. When I am sure that I hear our door slam shut, I close up my book and get ready to sneak off. I hide my stuff in a corner, so it might look like I simply forgot it there and creep out the common room door. As it shuts behind me, I begin to work my magic. Taking a deep breath, I slip into my animagus form… a great green snake. I manage to make it outside without anyone noticing, but once I'm about half way to the field, I see Hagrid stumbling around. I freeze, trying not to move and hoping that he does not see me. Luckily, he seems to be drunk, and simply staggers off to his cabin. With him safely out of the way, I continue slithering to the field. When I finally arrive, I see Remus sitting in the center of the field looking up at the stars.

As I get near and transfigure back, he says "You're late. It's a good ten minutes past." He looks me in the eyes and just smiles. "Not that you're ever timely. Just a comment." I sit down next to him and he gets that serious look again. "Theo…"

"Just wait." I interrupt him. I'm not ready yet. "Just wait." He grunts, and then returns his attentions to the stars. I look up, trying to see what he sees. "What's up there, Moony? What am I missing?"

He chuckles, "If you cannot see it, you won't understand."

My watch alarm rudely goes off, "I'm sorry, Remus." I pull out my pills, "Do you have any water?" He just shakes his head and gives me that questioning look they always give me. I simply shake my head and swallow them whole. "That feels better." I turn my face away. I know the blood stains my teeth and I don't want him to see. I don't want him to be afraid.

"Theodora." I spin on him… no one uses my full name… He takes my face in his hands and I just feel every part of me respond to his touch. It causes me to inhale quickly and he gasped slightly.

That pulls me out of my momentary bliss and I jump to my feet and turn away from him, faster than the human eye could follow, but he is standing right behind me. I feel his hands on my shoulders, "I almost forgot how fast you get when it's this close to the full moon."

He hugs my back to his chest, "Theo. You know my darkest secret. Do you think I would hate you for revealing yours?"

I feel tears starting to come to my eyes. Part of me does not want to tell him, for fear that things will change between us, but part of me knows that the only way I'll be free is to tell him everything. I take a deep, shuttering breath, "Remus… I have much to tell you…"

**Meh-heh.**

**Theo**


	4. Fourth Year: A Visit From My Lord

**Continuing on… **

"Theo…You can tell me anything." Remus whispers in my ear and he slowly turns me around. I look deep into his green eyes and decide that I could trust him.

I sigh and pulled him into a hug to whisper into his ear, "Remus… I'm half-vampire. My father is a powerful Dark wizard and my mother is his follower" I can hear his breath deepen as he struggles with this information. "I know what it is like to be attacked. I know what it is like to be scared of your own home." I pull myself out of his arms and I see his eyes wide with shock and disbelief. I pull up the left sleeve of my robes so he could see the scars there.

I let my sleeve go and I turn, prepared to leave, when Remus grabs my hand, "Theodora." I turn back to him and he kisses me. What? Why would he kiss me? I back away, shocked and afraid. "Theo… please understand" I turn and run. Why would he kiss me? After what I just told him? I am not someone to be kissed; I am someone to be feared and hated. I ran all the way back to my room and fell onto my bed. My mind could not process what had just occurred. I did not sleep that night.

The next day, Bellatrix wakes me up for breakfast, "Come ON! We're going to be late!" I groan as I sit up. Sleeping at night does not agree with me.

Then, I remember what happened last night, "Umm, maybe I should skip breakfast." I tell Brighteyes as she finishes putting on her robes, "I'm not feeling too well."

She snorts at me, "Yes, and Kneazles mate with dogs! Brush your hair and let's go! The boys are waiting!"

I sigh and pull a quick brush through my hair. There is no point in arguing with Bellatrix. She would drag me up the stairs before she let me miss breakfast. She is halfway out the door before she notices that I am not following. She gives me her famous death glare and I laugh as I shout, "I'm coming!" I quickly hurry to catch up, because she is in a rush today. "Brighteyes, what's the rush? Normally you skip down the corridors rather than sprint."

She turns and looks at me, an odd twinkle in her eye, "No reason…"

I know that twinkle, "Who is he?"

She looked shocked, "What do you mean, 'Who is he'?" She puts her hands behind her back and speeds up a little, "I have no idea what you are talking about!"

I roll my eyes, "Come out with it, Bellatrix! Who do you like?" I nudge her a little to get her to loosen up, "I know you and that you obviously like someone."

She blushed, "No. You'll make fun of me!"

I shake my head at her foolishness, "Come on."

She looks over at me mischievously, "I'll tell you if you tell me." I blush at her, "It's obvious you like someone too, Theo." She turns haughtily away, "I'll only tell if you will!"

I sigh… decisions, decisions… "Fine. But you go first."

She nods and leans in close and whispers, "Potter." I stop dead in my tracks.

"Really?" I cannot quite believe it.

She nods hesitantly, "Now it's your turn!" She grabs my shoulders and pulls me in close so our noses are touching, "Spill!"

I gulp down my hesitation and whisper back, "Lupin." I turn away quickly as she recovers from her own shock, "But we can't be together."

She grabs my shoulder and pulls me to a stop, "But why not? You would be perfect together!"

I sadly shake my head, "No, it just cannot be." I feel tears starting to gather in my eyes and wipe them away before the bloody things fall, "I could not make him happy like he deserves."

We finally walk into the Great Hall and I do not look up, but Bellatrix informs me that Remus is staring at me. "And you say, you can't be together, he's obviously mad for you!"

I just shake my head as we sit down with the gang. James instantly speaks up, "Bellatrix… can I talk to you for a moment?" I look over and smile at her as he leads her out of the room.

"Ungrateful dog." I surprisingly hear from the quietest of our numbers, Lily Evans.

"What is the matter with you, Lily?" Molly whispers over.

Lily shakes her head, "It's nothing…"

Sirius, that dog, lays his arm over her shoulder, "Do not worry about James. He'll come around and see the true beauty at this table, Lily. You'll see." He takes his arm back and Lily blushes intensely.

Molly boldly asks, "Do you like her, Sirius?"

He chuckles and sips his pumpkin juice, "Is it that obvious?" Lily's blush deepens and that blush seems to take on an angry tone as James and Bellatrix returns, hand in hand.

She looks over at Sirius, very intently, and shyly grabs his hand. He blushes slightly as he intertwines their fingers. Meanwhile, I finally look up from my meal to see Remus staring at me attentively. I almost choke on my food in surprise, "What, Remus?"

He grunts slightly, but does not say a word and does not remove his gaze. I refuse to discuss what happened last night. Even if his lips on mine were all I dreamt about. I cannot start dating someone. If my Lord found out, he would see it as a distraction from my mission and my mother would punish me severely for that. I cannot give in. I cannot let him in anymore than I already have… and yet I find my eyes staring just as absorbedly back into his…

It is the night of the full moon and Bellatrix and I are preparing to sneak out. We manage to get to the meeting spot and we slip with all the others under James' Invisibility Cloak. How we manage to fit seven people under that fabric, I may never know. We get as close as we can to the Whomping Willow without disturbing it and Molly and Peter rock-paper-scissors for who was going to paralyze it. Molly won this time and she became her little white rabbit. She hops over and freezes the Willow and we all begin to transform into our various shapes. James into Prongs, the buck. Peter into Wormtail, the rat. Bellatrix into Brighteyes, the owl. Lily into Speckles, the young doe. Sirius into Padfoot, the black dog. I into Scaleskin, the python.

We all enter the entrance and when we are out of harm's way, Padfoot barks to Hairyears that the coast is clear. She hops over and joins us. We traverse the long dark tunnel up to the old shack where Moony is waiting. He howls as we enter, excited to see us. I slither over and hiss into his ear about how I wish we could be there to comfort him while he transforms. Brighteyes hoots that someone is approaching the shack and we help Moony get into the attic. Brighteyes stands guard while Hairyears and Wormtail play fight to help distract Moony. Padfoot whines slightly as the strange person continues to approach the shack. I slither over to Brighteyes to help her watch as the man stops at the door. I look at him to see that it none other than my Lord. I slither away from the window as fast as I can and try to think about what I could do. My Lord must not come in, for fear of his life, but how am I to stop him without putting everyone in danger? Moony must have sensed my distress for he sits down next to me and rubs his snout against my scales. I hiss appreciatively, and continue my dilemma. I decide to slither down and stop him from entering, even if it meant revealing myself to him. I ask Moony and the others to stay in the attic as I slide down the stairs to confront my Lord. My Lord was standing just on the other side and was about to open the door when I hissed "Stop! Go no further."

He must have heard me for he whispers back in Parseltongue, "Dear Theodora? Come out where I can see you." I glide out through a broken corner of the door and my Lord gently picks me up in his arms, "Dark Princess. What has happened to you? Is this transfiguration or are you much more powerful than I thought?"

I whisper to him, "My Lord, this is my Animagus form. I have adopted it to move about the castle with less fear of being spotted. I must beg of my Lord to not travel within the walls of this house, for they are occupied with things that could hurt my Lord… or hurt his cause."

His anger begins to bloom across his features, "What is in this house that could possibly harm me!?"

I shy away, "Do not mistake me, my Lord. Students are inside. Students of which I wish to convert to your cause, and I fear that seeing you too soon would turn them away." Not a complete lie. A slight stretch of the truth, but I do wish to convert them.

"Ahh." He hissed, "I see. I shall go, but I expect a full report by the end of this month, Theo."

I sigh, "Yes, my Lord."

I slither back under the door, thinking he is about to leave when he says "Do not forget Theodora. I own you."

**Good? Not so much?**

**Theo**


	5. Fifth Year

**Poor me! Father was truly angry when I could report no new converts at the end of the month. The only person I managed to convert that year was Lily's old friend Severus Snape, but I made him swear not to inform Lily of my activities, which he obeyed. By the end of the year, everyone was situated in different relationships. Sirius and Lily were together and seemed happy though I knew Lily had her eyes on James. From what Bellatrix told me, James and her were okay but he was obviously looking at someone else. Molly finally gave in to Peter after Christmas break, more out of pity than anything… Remus never stopped looking at me. I finally went to apologize and he kissed me again and this time I did not run away. We started dating in February, though I kept it a secret from my family.**

"You worthless piece of trash! The only reason you go to that awful castle is to recruit followers for our Lord, and how many do you get? ONE!" She slaps me back to the white tile floor, where I had just gotten up from.

"Yes, Mother. I'm sorry." She kicks me in the face, and I thought she knocked out some of my teeth for a moment, but I check and they are all still there.

"You useless ingrate. What am I to do with you? You are not worth the precious blood that flows through your veins." She kicks me in the ribs and I know better than to get up now. If she kicks my ribs, then she in a bad mood and it is better for my health to stay still. "The Lord requested a son you know, a dark prince to rule by his side, but instead you came out!" She slams her high heel into my ankle, crushing the bone yet again. I hear it crack against the tile, but I dare not cry out, for I know it would disgrace her and make my punishment worse. She kicks me in the ribs again, causing a deep burning sensation that I try not to think about for fear it will bring tears to my eyes. "Damned girl. You are weak. Too weak to be the Lord heir. I hear speak that he is trying to find someone to have a son with! Do you know what that makes me?!" She kicks my face, breaking my nose, "Demoted. Because of you, I am going to be demoted from one of his generals to a simple lowly Death Eater!" She growls angrily and kicks her shoe off, "ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!" She kicks me in the gut so I go flying across the room and run back first into the stone wall. I hear another crack, this time from my chest, and I just beg silently that she is done. She stands there, huffing at the exertion. She then put her shiny red heel back on. She looks as though nothing happened, as though her party was uninterrupted by the Lord comment about my lack of converts this last year. Her long curly black hair, still perfect. Not a speck of blood on her short black dress, and her precious shiny red heels that she always wore unsmudged by my filth. "Just lay there and think about what you have done. I'll come get you and put you to sleep after the party." She leaves unfettered by my condition. I hear her apologize to her guests about leaving suddenly, that she needed to have a talk with her daughter and how I am about to go to bed.

Once I can no longer hear her voice I let the bloody tears slide down my face freely. I begin to assess my injuries. My right ankle is definitely broken, but my entire left leg seems unaffected. I definitely have a cracked rib, but I think only one this time so I manage to sit up carefully. I carefully check my nose, "Oh thank god." I whisper because it is not broken. Severely bruised and bleeding yes, but not broken. My arms have definitely seen worst days, so I guess overall not too bad.

"Miss Theo?" I hear Mispy, our house elf, call from around the corner. "Is there anything I can get you?"

Mispy, my lifesaver. Marissa may like to beat me up, but she doesn't like me looking like it. "Mipsy, can you get me some wet towels to wipe up my face and something to brace my ankle with? After that clean up the floor please. You know Mistress doesn't like blood on the floor." She is about to respond when someone opens the door and she disappears.

Damn it who is it and what do they want? I turn to see young Lucius Malfoy standing in the door, "Theo are you okay?" He runs over and comes to sit next to me.

I smile at him through the blood, "Yeah kid. I'm okay." I call to Mipsy and tell her to do as I said, since it is just Malfoy. She brings me my towels and gets started on the floor, "How are you? How has your Dad been lately?"

He sniffles, "Not as bad as usual. He's only taken me to his room three times this week… What about you? How many times have you seen these tiles?" Poor kid. I thought I had it bad, but at least Marissa did not rape me nearly every day. I knew that Hogwarts was as much an escape for him as it was for me.

"First time this week… that frightens me more than anything. It's already Tuesday, and this is the first time? Probably means I'm going to make up for it later." I finally finish cleaning myself up, "Hey Lucius, how do I look?"

He looks me over, "Not bad except for your nose and ankle. Both are swollen like my dad's ego." We both laugh about that.

Mipsy whispers to us, "Master Malfoy, you're father is looking for you." He nods and gets up. He waves good bye as he leaves me in the tiles room, as I've called it since I was a child. I am fifteen now, yet I have the aches of someone much older. I miss Remus and the boys more than anything, but I have not gotten to write them. I saw Bellatrix earlier at my mother's party and she looked about as excited to be there as I was. Somehow, Sirius had managed to wriggle his way out of coming with his family to one of the Lord's parties again. I am never comfortable around my Lord's friends, but I, more than anyone, have no choice in the matter. I just do as I am told and hope that Marissa doesn't kill me. I cannot wait until the day she dies.

I saw Lucius boarding the train, but I did not see him again. I worry about him sometimes. He is the closest thing to family that I have, and I want to protect him, but I do not know how. "Theo!" Remus calls as he spots me on the train. He kisses my cheek, and then leans his head out the window to wave bye to his family. I, as every year, remain seated and wishing that the train would move already. This is my least favorite part of the trip, because every year someone asks why I do not wave good bye and every year I have to come up with some excuse as to why my family is not there… for I know Marissa leaves after I board the train and my Lord would never come. "Good Bye!" Remus, James, Sirius, and Lily call as the train finally gets moving.

They all sit down and Lily asks the same old question, "Why did you not wave, Theo?"

Oddly enough the boys chime. "Oh, let me guess! Mom's sick and Dad's working." James pipes up.

Sirius adds, "No, she used that last year. I bet it's Grandma's ill and the parents went to check on her."

Even Remus joins in, "No way! I think that her Dad's away on some secret Ministry mission and her Mom's gone to visit her Uncle in Cambodia because his family's come down with some strange unknown disease!" We all laugh. "So which one is it this year?"

I laugh, "Well I really liked Remus' guess, but I'm afraid I have to go with Sirius." He stands up and starts shaking everyone's hands like he had won a large sum of Galleons. Both James and Remus toss him a small bag of coins. I guess he did win a small sum of Galleons, "Wait, do you guys make up some story and bet to see who's right?"

James nods, unashamed, "Yep. We have to entertain ourselves somehow during the summer!" We all laugh and the boys start playing their biannual game of Exploding Snap.

Everything seems relatively normal until Severus Snape opens our door, "Riddle. I need to speak to you."

James rudely pushes him, "What does Sniveling Snape want with Riddle? Is he lonely? Does he wish she was his girlfriend?" I roll my eyes as James and Sirius high-five each other.

I push my way through, "Okay Snape, we can talk. If nothing else, it will annoy the crap out of these two pixies and that enough reason for me!" Remus starts laughing at his two friends when I shut the door, "What is so important, Snape? You could have blown my cover just now!"

He looks down at the floor, "I am sorry Lady Riddle, but I had to speak with you. Our Lord requested that I help you recruit this year and I have come up with a plan with Bellatrix, but it needs your approval…" He looks up awaiting permission to continue and I nod. "We simply need to speak with the Prefects but as you know, word of our Lord might has been spreading around the school and I have heard many Slytherins speaking about it, so I thought that maybe after the feast in the common room you could speak to our house and try to convert them all…?" He shuffles nervously while awaiting my reply.

Convert everyone at once? That is a big task and would reveal my status to my entire house… but if it works, I may only have to recruit a few the next two years and I could live the rest of my time at Hogwarts in relative peace! What a relief that would be! I could actually enjoy my time with Remus and not worry about having to break it off all the time… I nod to him, "Yes, I agree. My only question is why me? Why cannot you or Bellatrix make this fantastic speech?"

He looks me squarely in the eyes, seemingly confused by my question, "Because, Lady Riddle, no other loves the Lord or knows him as you do. You are our leader, almost as much as he is, and to have anyone other than you would be blasphemous. Besides," He shuffles nervously again, as if afraid to insult me, "you believe in our cause like no other. Only your words ring true…" He looked up at me very seriously, "Bellatrix tried to get me to join first, but I couldn't until you spoke about our Lord and his goals. You are the reason I joined." He bows and quickly turns away. He leaves me slightly flabbergasted at his words. I never knew I had that affect on people.

We finally get back to the common room after the feast and the entire Slytherin house is a buzz, even the new first years. I can feel the nerves bunching up in my stomach. Why did I ever agree to this? This is madness! Bellatrix places a calming hand on my shoulder before she shouts over the crowd, "Hey, Shut up!" The room gets incredibly quiet. She smiles and gestures to me, "This is Theodora Riddle. She is the leader while we are here at school and she will be the one speaking to you all today." She grabs my hand and helps me up to stand on a green and silver chair.

I look down at all of the faces and I feel the snake of fear coiling in my gut. I look to my right at Bellatrix then to my left at Snape and see them both smiling up at me with complete confidence and I know that I have to continue on. "Theo." Bellatrix whispers up to me, "Just think about your dad."

With her words comes a flood of images. When he holds me after an especially brutal beating. How he always finds my eyes in a crowded room. The special smile that he has only for me. The light in his dark eyes that reminds me that I am important to someone. "Lord Voldemort is a strong, fearless leader. He will face any foe and be victorious. He is a general of an army and a king of a nation. These things are obvious, just by looking at him… but what is not so obvious is his true nature. He comes off as cold and merciless, especially to those who fear him, but for those who truly follow him and believe in his cause, they see something else. He truly cares about those beneath him. He can be kind and forgiving when the person is worth it. My Lord has a heavy heart that has lost much in his lifetime and that is what his cause is about. You may have heard rumors about him being a pure-blood activist and these rumors are not false, but he has seen the cruelty of muggles. His early life was spent at the abusive hand of our non-magical counterparts. He believes that a pure-blood world is the only world that shall be safe for all and I do not disagree. He cares about us, the future generations of the wizarding world, and he does not care about whom you were born to, it only matters who you shall become. The muggles are a weakness that can be defeated. Do not allow them to defeat you." I step down off the chair and start walking through the crowd, "My Lord is strong and he wants to protect us from the abusive and dangerous world of muggles. All of us from the youngest first years," I say as I place my hand on one of the new first years' head, "to the wisest seventh years," I say, shaking hands with one of the prefects, "he even wants to protect those who protect us, like Slughorn and Dumbledore." I come out at the other end of the crowd, right next to the hallway with my room. I turn back to the crowd and say with finality, "He loves us all and wants us to have a better life. My Lord is my savior and I would do anything for him." I turn away from the crowd then and head to my room. They remain quiet until I start to open my door and I hear the beginnings of chatter and Bellatrix saying that she and Snape would answer all questions. I close the door behind me and take some deep breaths. That was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, but it felt so wonderful. I could feel in my heart that my Lord would be proud at my words and I smile to myself thinking about him. I crawl into bed and whisper out into the dark, still air "My Lord… My Father, I love you." Sleep came quickly that night.

**So… What do you think? Would you follow her after her speech? Next stop… Sixth year!**

**Theo**


End file.
